Door operator



Jan. 7, 1964 R. J. LYNN 3,116,805

DOOR OPERATOR Filed Nov. 22, 1961 14 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY Jan. 7, 1964 Y 3,116,805

DOOR OPERATOR Filed Nov. 22, 1961 14 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. ROBERT J. LYNN BY 1 m AM @931 ATTORNEY Jan. 7, 1964 R: J. LYNN 3,1

DOOR OPERATOR 14 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Nov. 22, 1961 IN V EN TOR.

ROBERT J. LYNN MMA M ATTORNEY R. J. LYNN DOOR OPERATOR Jan. 7, 1964 14 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Nov. 22, 1961 INVENTOR. ROBERT J. LYNN 101; 743

ATTORNEY Jag 7, 1964 R. J. LYNN 3,116,805

' DOOR OPERATOR Filed Nov. 22, 1961 l4 Sheets-Sheet 5 F (5 INVENTOR.

ROBERT J. LY N BY "1M d.

ATTORNE Y Jan. 7, 1964 R. J. LYNN DOOR OPERATOR Filed Nov. 22, 1961 m I '--Q 1 14 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTOR. ROBERT J. LY N way- 4M ATTORNEY 13 lmlllaybllnrj l4 Sheets-Sheet 7 R. J. LYNN DOOR OPERATOR 2mn O m 000 QwmOJU m 000 Jan. 7, 1964 Filed Nov. 22, 1961 INVENTOR. R0 BER J B qflumJ (lu ATTORNEY EOE Jan. "7, 1964 R. J. LYNN 3,116,805

DOOR OPERATOR FIG.I5

INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY Jan. 7, 1964 R. J. LYNN 3,116,805

DOOR OPERATOR Filed Nov. 22, 1961 14 Sheets-Sheet 9 FIGIB ATTORNEY Jan. 7, 1964 R. J. LYNN 3,116,805

DOOR OPERATOR Filed Nov. 22., 1961 I 14 Sheets-Sheet 10 FIGZO 00 v INVENTOR.

ROBERT J YNN I BY 4 I p.

ATTORNEY R. J. LYNN DOOR OPERATOR Jan. 7, 1964 Filed Nov. 22, 1961 14 $heetSSheet l1 ATTORNEY R. J. LYNN DOOR OPERATOR Jain. 7, 1964 Filed NOV. 22, 1961 14 Sheets-Sheet l2 SPEED lN/SEC.

FIG-28 IN VEN TOR.

ATTORNEY Jan. 7, 1964 R. J. LYNN 3,116,805

DOOR OPERATOR I Filed Nov. 22, 1961 14 Sheets-Sheet 13 I I I 1.2: 3 1 1;!29

c J l INVENTOR. ROBERT .J. N W $Au-n Y I ATTORNEY Jan. 7, 1964 R. J. LYNN 3,116,805

DOOR OPERATOR Filed Nov. 22, 1961 14 Sheets-Sheet 14 m (3 &

INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY United States Patent ice 3,116,865 DGUR GYRERATQR Robert J. Lynn, Morton Grove, Ill., assignor to Vapor Corporation, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Filed Nov. 22, 1961, Ser. No. 154,161 25 Claims. (Cl. 180-82) This invention relates in general to a door operator, and more particularly to a door operator for use in opening and closing sliding doors and still more particularly for use in opening and closing sliding doors on passenger carrying vehicles, such as street cars, subway trains and other trains, busses and the like, although it should be appreciated that other uses and purposes of the present invention will be apparent to one skilled in the art.

The door operator of the present invention is a ruggedly constructed, compact and light weight unit that may be employed to operate a single door, two adjacent doors or two doors in a common opening. Moreover, it may be used to operate three doors wherein two doors are in a common opening and one door is adjacent to the operator in a separate opening. The door operator is electrically operated, but may also be manually operated if the electric power fails. The mechanism of the door operator includes an electrical reversible motor having a drive shaft connected to a bell crank and trunnion linkage. An output shaft is connected to the bell crank and trunnion linkage and in turn connected to a door linkage arm. The output shaft of the motor serves as an input shaft of the bell crank and trunnion linkage, and the input of the bell crank and trunnion linkage moves through 180 between stops while the output shaft thereof moves through 110 for the corresponding movement of the input shaft. Motor limit switches are actuated by oscillation of the bell crank only when the output shaft of the bell crank and trunnion linkage is at its extreme positions and when the doors are in the fully opened and closed positions, this being at a time when the least power and minimum of current is being used. The bell crank and trunnion linkage imparts a sine-curve type of a velocity movement to a door operated thereby, whereby the door is slowed down to a complete standstill at the ends of the opening and closing cycles. When the bell crank is in either of its stop positions, it provides an inherent lock for the output shaft thereof and therefore locks the door in open or closed position. Dynamic braking is applied to the motor by operation of the limit switches at the stop positions of the crank arm. No mechanical stops are provided or needed in order to stop the crank at either of the open or closed positions. A secondary lock for the doors are provided by means of a safety lock cam on the output shaft of the motor which operates as soon as the door is closed. An interlock is also provided for use in the driving circuit of the vehicle so that a vehicle can not be driven while the door is open. Other features will be apparent hereafter.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved door operator for opening and closing sliding doors, which is ruggedly constructed, of simple construction and compact in size, and economical to manufacture.

Another object of this invention is in the provision of a door operator for use in opening and closing sliding doors which provides a slow travel of the door at the start and finish of the doors movement and a fast travel of the door movement between the start and finish thereof. This door movement action is desirable in that it automatically eliminates undue slamming of the door at either end of the movement cycle, as well as eliminating all impacts and vibrations that may be imparted to the vehicles frame by movement of the door if it 3,1 ifih5 Patented Jan. l fi i would be slamming at the opposite ends of the movement cycle.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a door operator having mechanism which does not require a mechanical stop at the end of its stroke to stop the door, but wherein the mechanism itself has an automatic stop and further inherently locks in its extreme positions and thereby it locks the door in the open and closed positions.

Another object of this invention is in the provision of a door operator that is electrically operated, but may be manually operated upon power failure.

Still another object of this invention resides in the provision of a door operator having a mechanism which imparts a sine-curve type velocity movement to the door, thereby slowing the door down to a complete standstill at the ends of the opening and closing cycles.

Another object of this invention is in the provision of a door operator that may be used to operate a single door, two adjacent doors or two doors in a common opening, or three doors where two doors are in a common opening and one door is adjacent to the operator in a separate opening.

A further object of this invention is to provide a door operator that is compact in size and may be mounted beneath a seat in a vehicle so that it is out of the way but yet easily accessible.

Another object of this invention is to provide a door operator that is driven by an electrical motor wherein a crank and trunnion linkage is used to connect the motor with the door linkage, and wherein switches are actuated by the crank at the open and closed positions of the door where low or no torque conditions exist, thereby actuating the switches at low current load which reduces arcing and enables the use of smaller switches.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a door operator including an electrical motor driving a crank and trunnion linkage which provides door movement having a sine-curve velocity.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an operator in connection with a door or doors of a vehicle which permits the door to open or close at an initially slow rate of speed and which rapidly accelerates so as to hasten the closing or opening and in this manner enable passengers boarding or departing from the vehicle to gauge their activity relative to the door position.

It is still a further object of the invention to provide a door operator for a public vehicle and wherein the doors are quickly closed with a slowing down at the end of the closing cycle so as to prevent slamming of the doors upon passengers or objects in the interest of passenger safety.

A further object of this invention resides in the provision of a door operator for use in opening and closing sliding doors and having a simple cam lock mounted thereon for controlling a secondary locking device for the door.

A still further object of this invention is in the provision of a door operator that is electrically operated for use in opening and closing sliding doors, wherein at the ends of the movement cycles dynamic braking on the motor is provided to stop the motor.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following description taken in conjunction with the \accomanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a door operator of the present invention with some par-ts in phantom and other parts removed for purposes of clarity;

PEG. 2 is a top plan view of a door operator of FIG. 1 with some parts in phantom and other parts removed for purposes of clarity, and with the crank 90 out of position;

FIG. 3 is an end view of the door operator shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 taken from the left end, and showing some parts in dotted lines for purposes of clarity;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the secondary locking means used to lock the doors in closed position on a vehicle and illustrating the arm and associated parts in the two extreme positions by means of solid and dotted lines;

FIG. 5 is an end 'elevational view of the mechanism of FIG. 4 and taken substantially along line 55 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of the main driving linkage of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 13;

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of a detailed part of the mechanism and showing the manually operable linkage for manually driving the door operator;

FIG. 8 is an end view of the mechanism shown in FIG. 7 and taken substantially along line 88 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a detailed fragmentary top plan view of the drive mechanism in the door operator and also showing the cam locking bar, and wherein the crank is 90 out of position from its normal upper or lower position;

FIG. 10 is an end elevational view taken from the left of the arrangement shown in FIG. 9 and showing the arrangement of the limit switches which are operated by the crank;

FIG. 11 is a view similar to FIG. 10 but showing the crank in the opposite extreme position;

FIG. 12 is a detailed view of the crank and trunnion linkage;

FIG. 13- is a side elevational view of an installation utilizing the door operator of the present invention and showing how it may be mounted to open and close two doors in a common opening;

FIG. 14 is a side elevational view of an installation for the door operator of the present invention and showing how it may be used to operate a single door and the position of the door mechanism in full lines with the door closed, and the position of the door mechanism in dotted lines when the door is open;

FIG. 15 is a detailed end elevational view of the door operator and mechanism of FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a detailed view of the secondary door locking mechanism of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 14 and 15;

FIG. 17 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a door operator and associated linkage in an installation wherein doors are operated from adjacent openings;

FIG. 18 is a view similar to FIG. 17, but also showing how a secondary locking arrangement can be used to assure locking of the doors in their closed position;

FIG. 19 is a side elevational view of a door operator unit of modified structure;

FIG. 20 is an end elevational view of the unit in FIG. 19 and taken substantially along line 2@-2, and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 21 is a transverse sectional view of the unit of FIG. 19 and taken along line 21-2-l, and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 22 is a detailed sectional view taken substantially along line 2222 of FIG. 19;

FIG. 23 is a fragmentary sectional view of a detail of the embodiment of FIG. 19;

FIGS. 24, 25 and 26 are perspective views of the crank and trunnion linkage employed in the embodiment of FIG. 19, which has the same operation as the crank and trunnion linkage present in the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 27 is a transverse sectional view taken through the crank and trunnion linkage of FIGS. 24-26;

FIG. 28 is a graphical illustration of the opening and closing cycles applicable to a door operated by the door operator of the present invention;

FIG. 29 is a transverse sectional view taken through tit one of the plunger switches employed in the door operator of the present invention; and

30 is an electrical schematic diagram illustrating the operation of the door operator of the present invention.

The door operator of the present invention is capable of imparting controlled movement to sliding doors such as would be especially used in passenger carrying vehicles such as streetcars, trains, buses and the like, and will be hereinafter referred to as used in a streetcar or train and being normally operable from a source of electric power. Generally, the door operator will be used to open and close sliding doors, and may be employed in connection with a single door or double doors for a single opening or to operate three or more doors where two doors are in a common opening and at least one other door is in an adjacent opening. A typical installation of the door operator of the present invention for use in controlling movement of two doors in a common opening is shown in FIG. 13, while an installation for operating a single door is shown in FIG. 14. And FIGS. 17 and 18 generally illustrate installations for operating doors in separate openings by a single door operator of the present invention.

Thus, it can be appreciated that the door operator of the present invention is flexible in usage and may be employed in connection with many different installations without changing the unit itself and is also capable of handling adjacent sets of doors.

In general, the door operator of the present invention, designated by the numeral 31, includes a reversible electrical motor 32 driving a reduction gear assembly 33 having an output shaft 34 which also serves as an input shaft to a crank and trunnion linkage 35 that includes a crank 36 and a trunnion link 37, an output shaft 33 for the crank and trunnion linkage and the door operator unit, a manually operable drive mechanism 39 for driving the drive shaft 34 upon power failure, and a secondary door locking and interlock mechanism associated with the operation of the drive shaft 34-, as shown particularly in FEGS. l8. These components are mounted together to form a single unit by means of necessary frame work and carried on a base 41 which may be suitably bolted to the floor of a vehicle. A structural frame is mounted on top of the base s]; and is generally designated by the nu meral 42, and hereinafter any component journaled in or mounted on a frame part which is effectively integral with the frame 42 may also carry the numeral 42 for clarification purposes. As seen particularly in FIGS. 1 and 2, the drive shaft 34, which is effectively the output shaft of the reduction gear assembly 33 and the input shaft of the crank and trunnion linkage 35, is journaled in the frame 42 by suitable bearings. The reduction c.5- semoly 33 is mounted on one side of the frame 42 and spline connected to the drive shaft 34 so t at maintenance problems may be facilitated for interchanging of a reduc-' tion gear assembly. Further, the motor 32 is mount: directly to the reduction gearing assembly 33 and also drivingly splined thereto so that it may be removed from the gearing assembly for servicing. Therefore, it can be seen that the motor and reduction gearing assembly may be removed as a unit from the frame 42 and interchanged with a minimum amount of shutdown time for the unit. The drive shaft 34 drives the crank and trunnion linkage and has secured thereto one end of the angularly shaped crank 36. The other end of the crank is pivotally connected to one end of the trunnion link 37 in any suitable manner, which in turn, has its other end pivotally connected to the output shaft 33. The particular construction of the crank and trunnion link is such that movement of the drive shaft 34 through 180 effects movement of the output shaft 38 through In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-8, the drive shaft 34 is oscillated through between stops, thereby oscillating the out-- put shaft 32; through 110 for the corresponding stop 35 serves as an inherent lock for the door in either of its extreme positions. If the crank and trunnion linkage is at any other than the extreme positions, the door may easily be opened or closed by applying pressure thereto and thereby actually driving the crank and trunnion linkage. As heretofore stated, the crank and trunnion linkage is such as to cause the door to slow down so a complete standstill at the ends of the opening and closing cycles and also to start slowly and pick up to a maximum speed while going through the opening and closing cycles. The door operator thereby imparts a sine-curve type movement relative to the speed thereof to the door cycling operation. This operation is graphically illustrated in PEG. 28, where the speed in inches per second is plotted along the ordinate, and the time of door opening or closing is plotted along the abscissa. The line illustrating door opening is dotted, While the line illustrating door closing is solid and illustrating the relation of the times of door movement. The door opens in one and one-half seconds and closes in two and one-half seconds. As heretofore explained, the time of closing of the door is increased by connecting into the circuit a resistor 58, for it is desired that the closing operation be slower since it is at that time when a person might become caught in a door.

While the crank and trunnion linkage 35 provide an inherent locking of the door in open and closed positions, the secondary locking and interlock mechanism 4%, also operated by the door operator, serves to further lock the door in closed position when properly closed and to signal when the doors are in fully closed position. This mechanism includes a locking bar '72 operated by a cam 73 mounted on the drive shaft 34 (FIGS. 2, 3, 4and The locking bar 72 is pivotally mounted at 74 on a pedestal 75 that may be carried on the frame 42. The locking bar 72 extends from the pivot 74 and terminates in its outer end in a T-shaped in cross section head 76 that is raised and lowered into and out of the path of one or more bars 77 and 77a that are connected directly to doors, FIGS. 2, 3 and 4. For example, as seen in FIG. 2, the bar 77 extends to the right of the T-shaped end 76 of the locking bar, while the bar 77a extends to the left thereof, and as seen in FIG. 18, the bar 77 is connected to a door 7 8 on the right and the bar 77a is connected to a door 78a on the left. If either or both of the doors 7% and 73a are not in fully closed position, the bar 72 cannot drop to the position shown in solid lines in FIG. 4 because the T-shaped head will hit one of the bars 77 or 77a. When the locking bar 72 is in its upper position or in the position shown in dotted lines in FIG. 4, it engages and actuates an interlock switch 79 that may be in the circuit of the main power to the train, and when this interlock switch is actuated, it is not possible to start the train. But when the locking bar 72 may be permitted to drop to the position as shown in solid lines at a time when the doors are in fully closed position, the interlock switch 79 will be deactuated so that the train may start.

An extension 36 protrudes from the end of the locking bar 72 on the side of the pivot 74 opposite from the head 76 and is pivotally connected at 81 to a link 82. The upper end of the link $2 is pivotally connected at 83 to a trunnion 84 that is also pivotally connected at 85 to the pedestal 75. A cam follower or roller 86 is mounted at the upper end of the trunnion 554 and engages the cam 73. In addition to the weight of the locking bar arm 76, a spring 257 constantly urges the link 82 upwardly to thereby assure constant engagement of the cam follower 86 with the cam 73. A flattened portion 73a is provided on the cam 73 and when it aligns with the cam follower 86, upward movement of the trunnion 84 and link 252 takes place. Such movement permits the locking bar 72 to drop to the position shown in solid lines in FIG. 4, and rotation of the cam '73 so that the main cylindrical surfaceengages the cam follower 86 drives the locking bar 72 into the upper position as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 4. The cam 73 is timed with movement of the drive shaft 34 so 8 that upon initial movement thereof it will immediately cause the locking bar 72 to unlock the bars 77 and 77a before actual movement of the doors is started by the crank and trunnion linkage 35.

Because the secondary door locking and interlock mechanism 40 is mechanical and therefore must operate upon operation of the main drive shaft 54, there is not likely to be a break-down or failure of this mechanism as heretofore experienced with seoonary solenoid type locking devices. It should be appreciated that the interlock switch 79 is not in the door operator control circuit but would be associated in the master panel circuitry for controlling operation of the train or vehicle upon which the door operator is mounted, and wherein if a vehicle door is open, the locking bar 72 will be positioned to actuate the switch 79 and prevent the main circuitry from operating and the vehicle from starting. Thus, all doors must be closed and the locking bar 72 in position as shown in full lines in Flt 4 to deaotuate the interlock switch 79 and permit the main or master panel circuitry to be operated so that the vehicle can be started.

A modification of the door operator of the present in- 'vention is shown in FXGS. 19 to 27, the difference being that this door operator which may be designated in general by the numeral 31a differs only in structural features. The operation and function of this door operator is substantially the same as the preferred embodiment hereinabove described. Referring now to FIGS. 19 to 27, the door operator E la includes an electric motor 83 that drives a gear train 8 9 the output of which is connected to the main drive shaft 9%. The main drive shaft also acts as the input to the crank and trunnion linkage 91 that includes a crank 92 and a trunnion link 93. Although the crank and trunnion linkage 91 is slightly dilferently constructed than the crank and trunnion linkage 35, it operates in the same manner and also effects the same driving relationship between the shaft 9% and the output shaft 94 of the door operator. All of the elements are either enclosed within or supported by a housing or frame arrangement generally designated by the numeral 95.

As shown particularly in FIG. 21 a second output shaft 96 extending parallel to the output shaft 94 is also mounted in the frame and drivingly connected to the shaft 94 by means of a gear 97 mounted on the shaft 96 and in meshing engagement with a gear 93 mounted on the shaft Q4, The rotational direction of the shaft 95 is opposite to that of the shaft 3-4 but may also be used to drive a second door or door combination. Further, the output shaft 94 is mounted to extend to both sides of the [frame and housing 95 so that it may operate interchange ably from either end of this shaft.

Like in the first embodiment, a closed limit switch 99 and arr open limit switch 1% is provided for controlling the operation of the motor in a similar manner as the limit switches 55 and as of the first embodiment. The limit switches 99 and Trill are also operated by the crank 92-.

A locking bar till similar to the locking bar 72 is also provided for a secondary locking mechanism and is pivotally mounted to the housing 95 by means of a stub shaft 162, FIGS. 20 and 23. Also mounted on the locking bar 19d adjacent the stub shaft 192 but on the side opposite from the free end of the bar is a cam roller or follower ill? which is driven by a cam slid secured to the main drive shaft 9% so that the bar will be lifted up and out of engagement with any door cl-osin bars upon operation of the main drive shaft dll in a manner like that above explained in connection with the locking bar 72 in the first embodiment.

For emergencies upon power failure, means is also provided to initially start rotation of the main drive shaft 96 in order to bring the crank and trunnion linkage out of its inhereint locks so that the door may be forced open by means of a crank handle 1%, FlGS. 19, 2t) and 21 which has its driving end freely received on the end or" the drive positions. And more particularly, the crank 36 is oscillated through 180 between stops as is the trunnion link 37. The angle of movement of the output shaft 3%; may be varied by design of the crank 36. The intended movement of the output shaft 38 through 110 arcs is such as to cause opening and closing of the sliding doors on a vehicle as will be more clearly understood and explained hereinafter.

The cyclic operation of the door operator may be more fully understood with reference to the electrical schematic diagram of FIG. 30, the switches therein being in the condition as when the door is in closed position. The reversible motor 32 is preferably a compound motor capable of having stable speed characteristics that help to maintain proper timing in the door operator by its construction, which allows the motor to build up to rated speed before the door is moved and therefore before door torque is required. This initial no-torque start plus the fiat speed curve characteristic of the motor aid in providing better timing control in comparison to the series motor having torque conditions found in presently used operators. As illustrated schematically in PEG. 30, the motor includes a series field 43, a shunt field 44, an armature 45, a main manual reset overload relay 46 and an automatic reset overload relay ,7. A control relay &8 having contact arms 48a and 48b (shown in deenergized condition) serves to operate the motor and open the door when energized, and when de-energized to operate the motor in a reverse direction and close the door. Thus when the control relay is tie-energized, its contact arms 48a and 48b engage contacts 49 and 50, respectively, and when in energized condition the contact arms engage contacts 51 and 52, respectively. Where the door operator is installed in a train for controlling doors, operation of the control relay 43 will normally be controlled by the conductor or motorman who has a switch connected to line 53, While line 54 is connected to the main battery positive line.

A pair of limit switches are employed to control the stopping action of the motor 32, and these switches may be designated as a closed limit switch 55 and an open limit switch 56 as seen in FIGS. 1, 3, and 11. The closed limit switch is provided with normally closed contacts 55a and normally open contacts 551') while the open limit switch is provided with normally open contacts 56a and normally closed contacts 56b. The contacts 55a are only open as shown in FIG. when the door is in closed position and the contacts 56b of the open limit switch are only open when the door is in fully open position and this switch is actuated. At the extreme ends of door movement, the motor is dynamically braked to a stop, and the contacts b and 56a of the closed limit switch and open limit switch, respectively, are open and only closed at the end of each of the respective cycles of door movement to bring in a dynamic braking resistor 57 into the circuit. A resistor 58 is also connected into the circuit only during the closing cycle of the motor in order to slow the closing cycle. This arrangement is a safety factor to prevent door closing against a passenger.

The main overload relay 46 will open when the motor becomes too hot, and then requires a 311111.131 reset before the operator can be brought back into operation. However, the automatic reset overload relay 47 opens wire. the motor is drawing too much current and thereby forces the current through a resistor 59 and slows the speed of the motor but still permits it to operate. This relay will then close when the motor cools down to a predetermined temperature.

During normal operation of the door operator, when it is controlled by the conductor upon energization of the conductors control switch, the control relay 43 is energised thereby switching contact arms 48a and 43b into engagement with contacts 51 and 52, respectively. This will cause the motor to rotate in the direction that will drive the output shaft 38 to open the door, and when the door reaches open position, the crank 36 will engage the open limit switch 56, such as shown in FIG. ll. At this point contacts 56-12 are opened thereby to interrupt current to the motor and contacts 56a are closed thereby to apply dynamic braking to stop the motor. As the opening cycle is started, the contacts 55b of the closed limit switch will open and the contacts 55a will close. Upon actuation of the conductors control switch to close the doors, the control relay 48 will be deenergized to cause the contact arms 48a and 43b to engage contacts 49 and 58*, respectively, as shown in PM}. 39 and initiate the closing operation of the door by reversing the direction of the motor. As the cycle begins, the open limit switch contacts 56]) will close while the open limit switch contacts 5612 will open. At the end of the cycle, the crank 36 will engage the closed limit switch 55 and thereby open the contacts 55a thus interrupting current so as to tie-energize the motor and to close the contacts 55b to apply dynamic braking to stop the motor.

Should it be desired to operate the door operator other than through the conductors control switch, and when power is available, such can be accomplished by actuation of an emergency limit switch 60 that is mounted on the frame 42 as may be seen in FlGS. l, 2, 3, 7, 8 and 9. As seen in FIG. 30, the emergency limit switch includes normally closed contacts 60b and normally open contacts 69a which are positioned to override the conductors control switch and therefore can be operated at any time to control opening and closing of the doors. Operation of the emergency limit switch merely controls operation of the control relay to thereby operate the motor through its door opening and closing cycles.

A door operator switch 61 having switch arms 61a and 61!) may be used to completely out out the door operator from control by the conductor by moving the switch arms from contacts 62:: and 62b to contacts 63a and 6317, or to place the door operator in cut out position where the switch arms are in engagement with contacts 64a and 64b. In this position, if the door is closed, nothing will happen. However, if the door is in open position, the door will then close and once it is closed will cut out the door operator from all controls on a train and the train can then start.

Operation of the emergency limit switch 69 is accomplished by an emergency switch cam 65, FIGS. 1, 2, 6, 7, 8 and 9, which is carried on a shaft 66 rotatably supported by the frame 42 and extending at right angles to the drive shaft 34. Rotation of the shaft 66 is accomplished by manual actuation of a crank handle 67 arranged at one side of the door operator. Rotation of the shaft 66 a predetermined amount efiects actuation of the emergency limit sfitch 66 to energize the motor circuitry.

Should the power fail, the drive shaft 34 may then be manually operated by actuation of the crank handle 67. A bevel gear 68 is secured on the shaft 66 and in meshing engagement with a bevel gear 69 freely rotatable on the drive shaft 34. As seen particularly in FIG. 8, an abutment 7t), arcuately segmental in shape and secured to the bevel gear 69, is provided with shoulders 73a and 781) that are adapted to engage a pin '71 extending radially from the drive shaft 34. it may be noted that the arcuate length of the abutment 74 is somewhat less than and therefore permitting the drive shaft 34 to normally operate through its 180 movements without having the pin '71 engage in any manner the shoulders 79a and 7011. When manual actuation of the drive shaft 34 is necessary, rotation of the bevel gear 69 causes either shoulder 76a or 701') to engage the pin '71 and thereby drive the drive shaft 34 through its desired movement in order to open or close the door by operation of the door operator. Thus, in emergency situations where power is not available, the door operator of the present invention may be manually operated to open and close a door.

Whenever the door operator of the present invention is conditioned so that the door operator thereby is in either open or closed position, the crank and trunnion linkage shaft 9% and provided with abutting shoulders 1% and 107 that are adapted to engage a pin 1% mounted on the drive shaft. The crank arm 1115 is partially arcuate in form and provided with an abutting portion 1-13 9 adapted to normally abut and rest against a set screw 11% when not in use as particularly shown in FIG. 20. When in use and it is desired to maintain the crank and trunnion in a position to be easily maneuvered by sliding the door back and forth, the crank arm 1135 may be locked to a position where a pin 111 carried thereon is engaged in a socket 112v mounted on the housing 95 as seen particiiarly in FIGS. 20' and 21. Otherwise, this emergency crank handle operates in the same manner as that in the first embodiment.

While 'the open and closed limit switches and the interlock switch may be of any desirable construction, they are preferably of the plunger type as shown in more detail in FIG. 29 and as generally designated by the numeral 113. This switch includes a main body 11 having a bore 15 extending therothrough which receives slidably a .ger 116. The bore 115 steps down to a smaller bore an thereby defines therebetwcen an annular shoul- The bore 117 freely receives therein the main d-rical portion 128 is provided on one end of cylindrical portion 119 to define therebetween a shoulder 121 that is adapted to engage the shoulder 11% of the body and prevent the plunger from being removed from the body. Actuating of the plunger 116 depresses the plunger rod 122 which has mounted on its free end a contact arm 123. Movable contacts 12a and 1.25 are carried on the contact arm 123 which are adapted to engage stationary contacts 126 and 127 respectively that are mounted on a frame piece 12% that in turn is secured to the main body 11 The plunger rod 122' is s'lidablc in a bushing 12 9 carried by the frame part 123 and normally biased toward the plunger 116 by means of a spring 135 that is bottomed at one end on the bushing 12% and at the other end on an enlargement 131 on the plunge rod 12-2. The plunger 116 is spring connected to the plunger rod 122 by means of a coil spring 1'32 received within the hollow plunger 11o and bottomed at one end thereof against the plunger rod and at the other end against the enlargement 131 on the plunger rod 122. The spring 132 is stronger than the spring 138* and therefore actuation of the plunger 1 19' will not compress the spring 1321 until the movable contacts 124 and 125 are in engagement with the stationary contacts 126 and 12-7. However, the spring 132 provides to compensate for any overtravel without to the switch itself. A cover 13-5 is provided to enclose the contacts and is easily removable from the body 114 and frame piece 123 by manipulation of the cap screw Additionally, the cover 133 may be of glass to permit visual inspection of the contacts at all times and to also ascertain the position of the contacts when desired. lit may be noted that the contacts 124 and 126 are in engagement with each other while the contacts 125 and 127 are out of engagement and therefore this switch provides a set or" normally closed contacts and a set of normally open contacts. Upon actuating the plunger 116, the contacts 12-1 and 126 open while the contacts 125 and 127 close.

Referring now to an example of an installation of the door operator 31 of the present invention, attention is drawn to FIG. 13 wherein the door operator is applicable for operating a pair of doors in a common opening, where in a rocker arm 14% is mounted on the output shaft 33 and in turn pivotally connected to a steering gear assembly 14 1. The steering gear assembly is in turn pivotally connected to a bracket 142 secured to a door 143. The opposite door 1 -14 is driven by a reversing arm 145 pivotally mounted to a bracket 1 4 that is secured to the :frame of the vehicle. One end of the reversing aim is provided with a roller 1 17 that slidably engages in a guide bracket 146 secured also to the door 143,

while the other end of the reversing arm is pivotally connected to a driving arm 149. The other end of the driving arm 149 is in turn pivotally connected to a bracket 15% that is secured to the door 144. Turnbuckle couplings 151 and 152 are provided at opposite ends of the driving rod 149 for purposes of adjustment of the length of the driving rod and for adjusting the door 144 as to its proper opening and closing positions. Both doors 143 and 14-4 are slidably hinged to a rail 153 that is secured at the upper end of the vehicle and therefore slide along the rail between open and closed positions.

The steering gear assembly 141 also includes a turnbuckle arrangement or coupling 154' for purposes of adjusting the steering gear assembly and also includes a shock absorbing spring and connection 155 which functions as a shock absorber for the system in general and more particularly functions as a shock absorber to prevent any mistreatment of the door by a passenger which would be reflected back to the door operator. It completely isolates the motor and door operator from the shocks that may be experienced in the system. Additionally, it is capable of absorbing hard road knocks of the wheels on the vehicle and preventing them from reaching the door operator. Further, the steering gear assembly 141 enables tle door 143 to be moved back from its closed position approximately one and a half to two inches and thereby relieves any solid sudden impact of the door against a passenger that might become caught in the door when it is closing. Also should any garment be caught in the door when it is fully closed, the door may be moved back slightly to allow release of the garment.

The opening and closing operation or the doors 143 and 144- in FIG. 13 may be seen by viewing the portions of the door and the steering gear assembly in dotted lines as against viewing it in full lines. The force applied to the door 143 through the steering gear assembly is transmitted through the reversing arm 145 and the drive rod 149 to the door 144 which will also open in the opposite direction to the door 1 13-.

It should further be appreciated that if the door operator of the present invention were to be used to open a single door it could be mounted in a manner similar to that in F16. 13 and attached to the door in the same manner. Additionally, it may be mounted with other linkage arrangements to handle a single door such as shown in FIGS. 14- to 16. In this embodiment, a mechanism for detecting Whether the door is closed and associated with an interlock switch is also disclosed.

Referring now to FIGS. 14 to 16, the door operator 31 is provided with a rocker arm 156 secured at one end to the output shaft 33 and having pi-votally mounted to the other end a trolley device 157 having a pair of rollers 158 and 15-9 thereon which slidably engage a channelshaped connecting bar 169. The channel-shaped bar 169 is elongated and generally vertically extending and connected at its upper and lower ends to the lateral edge of a door 161 by means of a bolt 162 at the upper end and an elongated rod 163 at the lower end. The upper end of the channel-shaped bar 163 is apertured to he slidably received on the bolt 162 and normally held against the head thereof by means of a coil spring 164 encircling the bolt and engaging at one end the door 161 and at the other end the channel-shaped bar 16 2. Similarly, a spring 165 embraces the rod 163 and engages the door at one end and the channel-shaped bar at the other end which is provided with an aperture and slidably received on the rod. Adjustable nuts 11% serve as stop members for the channel-shaped bar to restrict its movement along the rod 163. Thus, the door may be opened a limited amount against the action of the springs 164 and 165 without operation of the door operator and without moving the channel-shaped bar 169.

The opening and closing action and positions of the parts may readily be seen in FIG. 14 wherein the door and associated parts are shown in closed position in solid lines and in open position in dotted lines. A safety interlock device is also employed in the embodiment of H65. 14l6 wherein the locking bar 72, which operates the interlock switch as above described, serves to detect the position of an axially slidable shaft 167 mounted in a bracket 163 that is secured to the frame of the door operator. The shaft 167 is slidably arranged within the bracket 168 and normally biased toward the left by means of a coil spring 169 and to the position shown in dotted lines in FIG. 16, and against a stop member 17d that also extends from the base of the door operator. The shaft K67 extends clear through the bracket 168 and has a head 171 that will engage the stop 1763 when the door is in open position and will thereby be in the path of downward movement of the locking bar '72 and prevent the locking bar from dropping into its rest position. This causes the interlock switch to be open and prevents the vehicle from starting. The tail end of the shaft 167 is provided with a lug 1'72 that is adapted to be engaged by a dog 1'73 that is adjustably mounted on the rod 163. When the door is in closed position, the rod 163 and dog 173 will drive the shaft 1&7 to the right by engagement of the dog 173 against the lug 17., and thereby removes the head 171 of the rod from the path of the locking bar 72 and permit it to drop into its resting position. But as soon as the door opens and when the locking bar is in raised position, the head 171 of the shaft 167 will move into interferring position with respect to movement of the locking bar 72 and thereby provide an interlock arrangement which prevents starting of the train before the door is closed.

Referring now to FIGS. 17 and 18, the door operator 31 is shown in an installation where doors of adjacent openings may be opened and closed by a single unit. The embodiment in FIG. 18 differs from that in FIG. 17 only as to the linkage arrangement. Both embodiments are employed for use in opening doors from adjacent openings.

Referring particularly to the embodiment of FIG. 17, a rocker arm 174- is mounted on the output shaft 38 of the door operator and pivotally connected at one end to a steering gear assembly 175 that is in turn connected to a door 176 in a manner heretofore described. The other end of the rocker arm 1'74 is connected to a driving rod 177 that is in turn connected to a second rocking lever 178. The rocking lever 173 is pivotally connected at one end to a frame bracket 1'79 and at the other other end to a steering gear assembly 18d which is in turn connected to a door 181. The driving rod 177 is pivotally connected to the rocking lever 178 at an intermediate point. It can be appreciated that the steering gear assemblies 175 and 189 are of the same type as the steering gear assembly 141 shown in FIG. 13 and heretofore described. The doors 176 and lid are shown in closed positions in full lines and in open positions in dotted lines, and it should be appreciated that operation of the door operator to the linkage arrangements open and closes the doors.

Similarly, the embodiment of FIG. 18 includes a crank arm 181?. secured to the output shaft and pivotally connected at one end to an adjustable driving rod 133 and at the other end to an adjustable driving rod The adjustable driving rod 133 is in turn pivotally connected intermediately to a rocking lever 135 that is pivotally mounted at one end to a bracket 136 on the vehicle and pivotally mounted at the other end to one end of a steering gear assembly 187. The other end of the steering gear assembly is pivotally connected to the door 78a. Similarly, the adjustable driving rod 18 is pivotally connected to a rocking lever 133 at an intermediate point. The rocking lever 188 is pivotally mounted to a floor bracket 139 at one end and pivotally mounted to one end of a steering gear assembly 1% at the other end. Tie steering gear 194) is in turn piv- 1.? otally connected to the door The operation of this assembly will be substantially the same as the installation in FIG. 17.

It should also be appreciated that the embodiment of FIG. 18 also includes a secondary locking and interlock mechanism as heretofore described wherein locking bars '77 and 77a are respectively connected to doors 78 and 73a. Similarly, the door operator of tl e present invention may be suitably used with other types of linkage arrangements.

it will be understood that modifications and variations may be effected Without departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the present invention, but it is understood that this application is to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

The invention is hereby claimed as follows:

l. In combination with a slidably supported member, apparatus for cyclically driving said member between first and second positions, said apparatus comprising a reversible electric motor, a drive shaft driven by said motor, an output shaft extending perpendicular to said drive shaft, a crank and connecting rod assembly coupling said shafts and imparting a variable speed drive to said output shaft during a constant speed drive of said drive shaft such that the speed of the output shaft between said positions is gradually increased from zero to a maximum and then gradually decreased to zero, linkage interconnecting said output shaft and said slidably supported member, and electrical means controlling the operation of said motor to cyclically oscillate said rive shaft between first and second positions.

2. In combination with a slidably supported member, apparatus for cyclically driving said member between first and second positions, said apparatus comprising a reversible electric motor, a drive shaft driven by said motor, an output shaft extending perpendicular to said drive shaft, a crank and connecting rod assembly coupling said shafts and imparting a variable speed drive to said output shaft during a constant speed drive of said drive shaft such that the speed of the output shaft between said positions is gradually increased from zero to a maximum and then gradually decreased to zero, said crank and connecting rod assembly including a crank secured to said drive shaft and a connecting rod having one end pivotally connected to the free end of the crank and the other end pivotally connected With said output shaft, linkage interconnecting said output shaft and said slidably supported member, and electrical means controlling the operation of said motor to cyclically oscillate said drive shaft between first and second positions.

3. In combination with a slidably supported member, apparatus for cyclically driving said member between first and second positions, said apparatus comprising a reversible electric motor, a drive shaft driven by said motor, an output shaft extending perpendicular to said drive shaft, a crank and connecting rod assembly coupling said shafts and imparting a variable speed drive to said output shaft during a constant speed drive of said drive shaft such that the speed of the output shaft between said positions is gradually increased from Zero to a maximum and then gradually decreased to zero, linkage interconnecting said output shaft and said slidably supported member, and electrical means controlling the operation of said motor to cyclically oscillate said drive shaft between first and second po 'ons, said electrical means including a control relay circuit and limit switches controlling the energization and direction of said motor.

4. In combination with a slidably supported member, apparatus for cyclically driving said member between first and second positions, said apparatus comprising a reversible electric motor, a drive shaft driven by said motor, an output shaft extending perpendicular to said drive shaft, a crank and connecting rod assembly coupling said shafts and imparting a variable speed drive 

20. IN COMBINATION WITH A SLIDABLE DOOR FOR COVERING AN OPENING IN A VEHICLE, MEANS FOR DRIVING SAID VEHICLE, A DOOR OPERATOR FOR DRIVING SAID DOOR BETWEEN OPEN AND CLOSED POSITIONS, SAID DOOR OPERATOR COMPRISING A REVERSIBLE ELECTRIC MTOR HAVING A DRIVE SHAFT, AN OUTPUT SHAFT EXTENDING PERPENDICULAR TO SAID DRIVE SHAFT AND CONNECTED TO THE DOOR, A CRANK AND TRUNNION LINKAGE INTERCONNECTING SAID DRIVE AND OUTPUT SHAFTS AND EFFECTING A VARIABLE SPEED OF SAID OUTPUT SHAFT WHEN SAID DRIVE SHAFT IS DRIVEN AT A CONSTANT SPEED AND THROUGH A 180* REVOLUTION BY GRADUALLY INCREASING THE SPEED OF SAID OUTPUT SHAFT FROM ZERO TO A MAXIMUM AND GRADUALLY DECREASING TO ZERO, AND A RELAY CIRCUIT OPERABLE TO CONTROL THE ENERGIZATION OF SAID MOTOR TO CYCLICALLY OSCILLATE SAID DRIVE SHAFTS THROUGH 180* REVOLUTIONS WHEREBY THE DOOR IS OPENED DURING ONE 180* REVOLUTION OF THE DRIVE SHAFT IN ONE DIRECTION AND CLOSED DURING ANOTHER 180* REVOLUTION OF THE DRIVE SHAFT IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION, AND MEANS ON SAID DOOR AND SAID DOOR OPERATOR DETECTING WHETHER THE DOOR IS IN FULLY CLOSED POSITION. 